-A Better Story-
by Neori-Queen
Summary: Oliver Queen went away seven years ago, and now that he's back at home, everything is different and his greatest love is about to get married. Stop that wedding should be his priority, not being stuck with her annoying sister.
1. Part I

This is my first english story, so I hope it won't be a mayor disaster... It's a short story, five chapters tops. Hope you'll like it!

See you soon!

P.S.: Thanks a lot to youfixmybrokenwings for being my beta and correct all my mistakes! You're amaizing!

* * *

 **PART I**

He leaned out the window and lit a cigarette. He puffed and let the smoke out slowly.

Looked down the street.

He was in that town again, at home again… His home.

He didn't know what it was that had brought him back after so many years away, but… on second thoughts, he couldn't say why he went away either. He just... The people had begun to be overwhelming, everything was too monotonous. He wasn't born to live there, as opposed to most of his colleagues, friends and acquaintances. He needed to travel and see the world, live in other cities, try new things… So, one morning, without giving it a thought, he'd packed his bags and left. Leaving behind all that once mattered…abandoned her too.

He thought of her…her sweet smile, her kisses, so warm sometimes and so passionate others… What had become of her life? During the last seven years he had been unable to stop thinking about her, needing her…but he surely had realized that too late.

He didn't know if she was the real reason he had returned, or if he was simply tired of being always alone, but it was clear that now he was here again, he would try with all his strength to get her back. Whatever the cost was. He was going to get her.

"Oliver, honey, you know I don't like you to smoke."

He put out the cigarette against the windowsill and said, "I'm not a kid anymore, mom."

She smiled and brushed the hair from his forehead with her fingers. "I know."

Oliver turned away from the window, smiling. "I'm already presentable, Mom?"

She smiled. "Don't be silly." She came closer and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're here again, my beautiful boy."

"Well… I needed mommy's pampering."

When he put on his coat, Moira asked, "Are you going out?"

"I want to see the boys…" he said, uncertainly.

Moira looked at him seriously for a few seconds. "Don't do it."

"Do what?" he asked, not understanding.

"I'm not stupid, Oliver. You came back for her, didn't you?" He didn't answer. "Don't do this."

"It's my life, okay?" he said, running his hands over his face. "Please, stay away from this."

Before he had time to turn the doorknob, Moira spoke again. "She's getting married."

He froze at that moment.

He couldn't move a single muscle of his body. That was the last thing he could have imagined… But what was he expecting? He dumped her without any explanation. Just called her one day and said he was leaving. It was logical that she hadn't waited for him to come back. But for some stupid reason he had clung to the silly idea that she wouldn't forget him, much less fall in love with someone else.

He threw his head back and took a deep breath. He was going to stop that wedding by any means.

"The wedding is in five days."

"We will see." he said, shutting the door with a bang.

Felicity sighed in relief as the priest in charge of the ceremony entered the sacristy, leaving her alone. This was going to be the wedding of the year, at least in this town. Everything was ready: the catering, the invitations, the flowers, the church, and she had just talked to the priest to finalize the last things.

She frowned when she saw her cousin, Roy, run in the church…he was supposed to be helping Laurel at home.

"Laurel is having a panic attack, Felicity."

"What? Why? What happened?"

"I don't know! I'm not sure… I left her alone with Thea for a moment, and when she left and I came back to the room, she was pale…" he took a deep breath to catch air. "And then she began to shake and moan… I don't know what happened, Felicity, but…it looks bad."

"Is your girlfriend an idiot or what? What the hell did she tell her?"

"She didn't want to tell me…"

They ran home. She had no idea of what could have happened to her sister. Well, step-sister. Laurel, Sara and she had met when they were teenagers. Their parents had met by coincidence and it had been like magic. Love at first sight.

At first, coexistence wasn't easy, but they gradually found their way. Laurel was very excited about the wedding so she did not understand what could have happened. Was this wedding nerves? She had only five days as a bachelorette…that had to alter her in some way…all brides suffered a crisis before the big day, right?

Luckily, they lived two houses away from the parish church so in a couple of minutes they were already climbing the stairs to the top floor, searching for her sister. They opened the door and stood looking at her. She was sitting on the bed, it was obvious she had been crying and she looked frightened.

"Hey gorgeous," Felicity said, kneeling beside her. "What's going on?"

"He's back," Laurel said with a faraway look.

Felicity raised her eyebrows, not understanding. "Who?"

Laurel looked at her. "Him! He's back, Felicity!"

Roy, who looked from the door, asked, "Who do you mean?"

"Ollie!" She hugged Felicity and began to cry. "Why did he come back now? He has no right to do this…"

Felicity was stunned. Has he come back? Laurel was right, he had no right to break into her life after he abandoned her that way. Her sister was happy now. She was in love with Tommy. She was getting married in a few days… It was all set! But Oliver Queen always had to stick his nose where no one wanted him, and now he had come to endanger her sister's happiness again.

Felicity took her face in her hands and made her look at her. "Hey, hey, listen to me. Everything's gonna be fine, okay? This guy is _not_ going to crash the wedding."

Laurel sniffed tears. "What happens if that's what he wants? What if I see him and feel something?"

"I don't want to be a killjoy, but I believe that if he has come back now, he's after you, Laurel." Roy spoke from the door again.

Felicity looked at him sternly. "You're not helping!"

He shrugged. "Well... it's the truth… Why else would he come back?"

Felicity turned back to Laurel. "Don't worry, it's been too long… and you've forgotten him, right?"

Laurel nodded. She didn't look completely sure. "I guess…"

"You guess?! You're getting _married_ , Laurel! You have to be sure of your feelings!" Laurel stood up and began pacing around the room, Felicity followed her. "Tell me something. Do you love Tommy?"

"I do… very, very much."

"As much or more than you loved Oliver?"

"That was different… Oliver was my first love, my first everything…it was special…" She sat back on the bed. "But with Tommy I'm safe, I know I'll always be good with him."

"That's not a reason to marry him," Roy jabbed.

"Roy!"

"I know, Roy, I know… What I mean is that when I think about my life, my future… The one that I see is Tommy, not Ollie. The one I want to spend the rest of my life and start a family with is Tommy!"

Felicity smiled hugely. "That's it then! It doesn't matter if Oliver has returned."

"You think?" Laurel asked doubtfully. Felicity nodded.

"You'll know when you see him again, you won't feel anything."

Roy looked out the window. "Well, you'll be able to find out right now… he's coming."

Laurel's face turned panicked. "What?!"

"He's passing the garden," Felicity said, peering through the window too.

"I don't want to see him. Help me, please!" her sister begged.

"What do you want me to do?" Felicity asked, without ideas.

Laurel passed a hand over her forehead with **frustration.** "I don't know…! Distract him, tell him I'm not here… whatever. But I'm not ready to see him yet."

"But… why me?! We never got along. I don't like him, Laurel!" She looked at Roy. "You go."

"Oh, no, no… I'm not good with lies. I get nervous and I end up messing everything up. Plus, he's still holding a grudge against me for being with his sister...!"

Felicity frowned. "Well, it's clear that I have to take care of everything around here!"

Nerves took control of him. He felt his hand trembling when he knocked. He had no idea what he would find. Seven years was too long. When he was 20 he was immature and irresponsible, and now he had to face the consequences of his actions, because he was convinced that Laurel did not even forgive him yet. Still, he crossed his fingers, hoping that at least she might let him explain.

The door opened and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

Felicity.

This was going to be harder than he thought. It would be better to be kind, it would be worth it if in the end he could get her to take him to Laurel.

"Felicity!" he exclaimed with a smile. "How're you doing? It's been a long time since we saw each other." He looked her up and down. "You look pretty."

Felicity answered, with a permanently furrowed brow. "What are you doing here, Queenie?"

Oliver closed his eyes again. Clearly being nice with that girl wouldn't work. "Can I come in?"

Felicity opened the door to let him in and led him into the living room. Oliver found that gesture ridiculous, he knew that house almost as well as his own. No need for anyone to guide him.

"You should know that you're not welcome."

Oliver decided to ignore that comment and go straight to the point. "Is Laurel at home?"

"She is...but she doesn't want to see you" she said, walking around and examining him.

"I'd prefer to hear that from her, not you," he replied to the uncomfortable recognition she just made.

"She has more important things to do than come down here to talk to you," she answered as she continued her examination. "For example," she looked at his face, stressing the words, " **get married**."

Oliver sat comfortably in an armchair. "I disagree with you on that...also," he put his feet on the coffee table, "I'm in no hurry, one day she will have to come down and see me."

"Your feet!" she scolded, giving them a kick. "You're not at home, Queenie." she admonished as she sat in an armchair in front of him."It doesn't matter how long you wait, you won't be able to change my sister's feelings."

"We'll see," he challenged her. "When I want something, I always succeed."

"Are you willing to ruin her wedding?" Felicity was incredulous.

Oliver shrugged. "I came because I wanted to make things right with her, didn't even know she was getting married...I found that out about half an hour ago." He stared at her. "But that's not going to change my plans."

"You're out of your mind! It's been seven years!"

After a while in silence, Oliver spoke up again. "Are you going to call her or do I have to go up myself?"

"If you dare approach those stairs I'll punch you."

Oliver looked at her. Once, he had come to hate her as much as he had loved her sister. When he and Laurel started dating at 15 years old, Felicity and Sara had been 13...at that time she was only the nuisance of his girlfriend's little sister. More than one evening they'd had to take them with them by imposition of their parents. That had pissed him off. Two years passed and Felicity grew, she was no longer with them and tried to avoid him at all costs...they'd both tried not to cross paths with each other. They just tolerated the other because of Laurel, but nothing more. In his opinion, Felicity was always too sharp and rude, very wild and even rebellious. Unlike her sister, who was gentle and kind to everyone, she knew what she wanted and never caused trouble to her parents. Disappointments were Felicity's job, she was an expert on them.

Come to think calmly, it wasn't exactly hate that they felt for each other. They were just two very different people. Or maybe really equal? He did not know the reason, but the truth was that he and Felicity had never got along.

"Tell me something…you don't like me, do you?" he asked curiously.

"Not a bit. I never did," she replied solemnly.

Oliver rolled his eyes and got up to leave, he was convinced that that day he wouldn't get to see Laurel, so he had nothing to do there. Before leaving the house he turned around to look at her one last time.

"I never liked you either."

Felicity stood behind him and shrugged.

"Who asked?"

"Well...just so you know."

Felicity really didn't care what he thought about her. She had always tried to get along with Oliver but only because of her sister, so now that Laurel didn't care about him anymore she did not have to strive for him like her.

When she kept looking at him, Oliver asked, "Would you mind telling me why you are looking at me like that all the time?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're subjecting me to a third grade... You're making me nervous."

"It's nothing...just watching how you've changed." Her tone became somewhat joking. "You're not that skinny boy that left town at 20 years old."

"I'm sorry, Felicity, but I have to say that you're still the baby of 18 I left here... I mean, I think you're still looking the same as you did when you were 15."

It was a lie, obviously. Starting with her style: she was no longer dressed as a Goth, no black hair streaked with colour; and that body definitely wasn't a 15 year old girl's body. He just wanted to pinch her. But Felicity looked at him indifferently and shrugged again. That pissed him off even more. What was wrong with her? Was she going to ignore everything he said? He really wanted to bother her, but it seemed that everything he said didn't matter to her.

"You don't care about anything, do you?"

"You can only be offended by someone you care about."

Oliver closed his eyes and turned away, if he continued spending much time with her, this would end badly. Things could have changed a lot in those years, but where Felicity and he were concerned, everything was still the same. They could not be together more than half an hour without either of the two suffering a nervous breakdown.

He walked to his house and soon realised that he was not alone.

"Where are you going?"

Felicity looked at him as if the answer was obvious.

"With you."

"What? Have you gone crazy?"

"Not at all. The crazy one here is you." Oliver frowned. "Or do you think I'm going to let you go so easily when you want to ruin my sister's wedding?"

"What do you think you can do to stop me?"

"You see, Queenie. There's 5 days left until the ceremony. In those five days you can do a lot of nonsense, and I'm going to make sure that does not happen. "

"And can you tell me how, bright spark?"

"I'll be your shadow. So you better be patient because during the rest of the week I'll be glued to your ass," she turned around to face Oliver, "Which certainly is not bad. "

He always knew that girl had something wrong in her head, but it was obvious that the years had not solved her problem: it was even worse. He look at her seriously and she smiled triumphantly. Oliver snorted and walked with Felicity beside him. These were going to be the worst five days of his entire life.


	2. Part II

She had been watching him for a while from the store. He was sitting on a park bench paying attention to nothing, deep in his own world.

It was already getting dark and Felicity looked at her watch. She was actually surprised that the day had gone pretty fast; she had thought it would be worse.

God…she had a unique ability to complicate her life… How could she have thought it would be a good idea to become the shadow of that asshole? She had been so happy without him all those years… Felicity knew that she and Oliver were never going to get along. There was something that made them collide. She had never understood why, but they never had liked each other.

She paid for her sunflower seeds and returned to him.

"You want one?" Oliver shook his head. "More for me... Did you know that these are very good for memory? And also to prevent cardiovascular disease, plus they are delicious. I love them, especially this type." She showed him the package. "I don't like the salty ones at all... for me these are sunflower seeds. When I was little my grandfather had a sunflower in the garden and I used to spend the day looking for any seeds. Maybe I should plant a couple of them... with all the seeds I eat a week, it would be profitable. Have you tried the plain seeds? No comparison..."

Oliver listened to her talk without paying much attention. Couldn't that girl shut her mouth for five minutes? They had spent the whole day together and he was starting to feel dizzy because of all the chat. The Felicity he remembered was quieter and unfriendly. This one seemed to make it her purpose to say a thousand words together in a shorter time than he could. It was messing with his nerves.

"Do you think I care about anything you're telling me?" He moved a hand to his forehead. "You're giving me a headache." His voice was sharp.

"You should interact more with people... so many years alone has only made you become unsociable."

"Excuse me?! Are you telling me how should I be? If I remember correctly, when I left you were the rudest and most unfriendly person in this town. Don't come moralizing to me."

Felicity pursed her lips. "Yeah… I used to be kind of… rude… back then, but people change."

Oliver stood from the park bench. "I care very little if you've changed or not." He zipped his jacket. "I'm going home, it's starting to get cold."

He had only taken a couple of steps when he realized that she was next to him again. He glared at her with fury. Was she ever going to leave him alone? All that he wanted was get rid of her and go home, crawl into bed and forget about the wedding, Laurel, Felicity and everything else.

"I just said I'm going home. What part don't you understand?"

"I happen to have a genius-level intelligence, and I understand everything perfectly. But I'm sure your mother will be very happy if I go to dinner, so I'll go with you."

"Oh no! I won't let you into my house too. You just can't invite yourself to dinner!"

"Who says that?" she said with a half smile.

"A little thing called manners? You can't go into a house if you haven't been invited before, you know?

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Oh, Oliver," she said mockingly, "it's so obvious that you haven't been around lately. I don't need anyone's permission to go to your house. Your mom loves me."

She walked down the street, leaving him standing there like a fool. He couldn't believe how crazy that girl was. Letting her into his home! What was his mother thinking?

They remained silent the rest of the way. Occasionally he looked askance at her. She had changed a lot, both physically and personally. For example, as much as it cost him to admit it, she was much prettier without all that black and little was left of that young rebel who did things on her own, not thinking about anyone else. Oliver didn't know which one of the two Felicitys pushed him more over the edge; the old one at least ignored him. This one was bugging him the whole time.

He opened the garden gate and went in front of her, without even bothering to let her pass. As soon as Felicity passed through the gate, Honey, the Labrador retriever he had had since he was 17 years old, came running through the garden.

Felicity bent down to hug and cuddle the dog. "Honey! How's my boy?"

Oliver looked shocked as the dog licked her face and did all sorts of nonsense for her. That traitor hadn't even shown the slightest attention to him since he had returned! This was crazy! Felicity not only got along with his mother, now she had stolen his dog's love. It was his dog! He should welcome him like that, not her.

Annoyed, he grabbed the dog by the collar and pulled him away from Felicity. "He's my dog, not yours. Don't hoard him."

Felicity laughed. "Are you getting jealous because your dog prefers me?"

"He doesn't prefer you… he just... I've been away from him for a long time and it's hard for him to trust me now."

Felicity laughed harder. "That's stupid."

"It's not! He just needs to get used to seeing me again, that's all."

"What he has to do is learn to love you again... He has forgotten you."

Oliver was increasingly mad. "That's not true! Honey still loves me!"

Felicity shrugged and walked past him. "If you say so..."

When she had her back to him, he waved his hands as if he was strangling her neck. That was all what he wanted to do at that moment. She exasperated him, drove him to despair. If he really had to spend five days with her, he was gonna end up going crazy. He grabbed the dog by the collar again and took him to his kennel while Felicity entered his home. He needed to get away from her even if was only to take Honey to his place... Oliver was starting to feel very overwhelmed.

Too much.

He crouched next to the dog. "You remember me, right champ?" The dog gave a little yelp and lay down next to the door of his house. "Whom you should forget is Felicity, she's not good, mate." He took an old gnawed ball and ruffled the dog's head. "Want to play?"

Oliver threw the ball through the garden and waited... but the dog ignored him. He simply followed the trajectory of the ball with his eyes, and immediately closed his eyes ready to sleep. Oliver sighed and rose, resigned. In the end, he would have to admit that Felicity was right and the dog didn't remember him.

Felicity was chatting animatedly with Moira as she helped her set the table and prepare dinner. That woman had something special and Felicity loved to hang out with her. During the last couple years there hadn't been a week without her visiting that house, even if it was only for a quick coffee before going to work. If she'd been asked about how those little meetings with Moira had begun, she couldn't give an answer… it happened almost without her noticing.

When Oliver left town, Laurel went through a very bad patch and didn't want to hear anything about him, and that also included cutting any ties with his family. One morning Felicity realized that some of Oliver's things were at home and decided to take them to his mother, to spare her sister that chore. Moira had invited her to eat and both had spent a very pleasant time together. Since then, Felicity took every errand in order to approach the house, until the day she had no more excuses to visit her and those little moments became part of her routine.

Moira passed her a tablecloth. "You left me very abandoned Felicity. I haven't seen you for at least two weeks."

Felicity snorted. "I barely have time for anything. The whole wedding stuff is driving me crazy."

"You're taking care of everything by yourself?"

Felicity nodded. "Sara doesn't arrive until the night before the wedding, so yes, practically everything: the church, restaurant, music, photographer...and everything else."

"It's your sister who should be taking care of all that."

Felicity shrugged "I don't mind...and well, you know how she is."

Oliver walked into the kitchen and sat down without a word. He was watching and listening to the two women and couldn't understand. How had his mother and Felicity become so friendly with each other? The world had gone crazy in those seven years... Starting with Laurel, going through his dog and ending with his mother.

Moira finished serving dinner and sat at the table. "Yeah, but she is the one who's getting married. I don't understand that you load yourself with all the work."

Felicity sat beside her and began to eat. "Moira, seriously, I want to do it. I'd rather take care of everything and know it's all in order, than leave it to her and know half of the things would stay unfinished."

Moira nodded. "Yeah well…maybe you're right. Knowing her... You're much more responsible for those things. "

Oliver looked at his mother, stunned. Either he had misunderstood or many, many, things had changed in his absence. Felicity was anything but orderly and responsible.

"Her, more responsible than Laurel? Since when?"

Felicity looked at him, mad. "Since always, idiot."

"That's a good joke! You, responsible and orderly? Come on…"

"The fact that you still have the same personality as when you were a teenager doesn't mean that we all do."

Oliver smiled. "What do you mean? All these years have turned you into a normal person?"

"You think you're so funny... Jerk," she muttered.

"Kids! Do not fight!" Seeing that everyone was concentrating on their plates, Moira kept talking. "What I meant is that Felicity is far more organized in these things, while Laurel... it's... I do not know how to say it... she's a bit clueless."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's a polite way to say it... And if you add to that the wedding nerves... I assure you that half the things would remain unorganized."

"I still think she should have more responsibility in all this. Not only because it is her wedding, but because you have to work."

Felicity hit her forehead. "I had forgotten! Yesterday the shots arrived, so you can bring me Honey anytime."

Oliver was playing with the fork on the plate when he heard "shots" and "Honey" in the same sentence, and said by Felicity. He looked up quickly and looked at her mother and Felicity alternatively, not understanding what they meant but fearing that crazy girl was going to inject something to his dog.

"What's that about some injections and Honey?"

"The antiparasitic vaccine. I don't want the dog to fill my house with fleas."

Oliver opened his eyes, incredulous. "And Felicity's going to shoot him?!"

Felicity spoke to him as if he were a child. "It's what vets do... vaccines, deworming, animals' surgery..."

"You're the vet?" He looked worried at his mother. "What about Mr. Parker?"

Moira laughed. "Oliver, dear, Mr. Parker retired over two years ago. Felicity has been in charge of the clinic since then."

"But how?"

Felicity was starting to get bored of his nonsense. "Do we have to explain everything to you or what? Let's see: first, I went to college and studied veterinary science, then..."

Oliver shut her up. "I already guessed that." He looked at his mother. "How are you bringing Honey to her?"

Moira laughed at the ridiculousness of her son. "And where would I take him? To the hospital?"

"Well... another vet! Not to this...deranged…"

Felicity hit him on the arm. "Hey! Don't insult me! And let me make it very clear that I am very good at my job. You just have to see how your dog loves me."

Oliver ignored her. "Mom! I'll find another vet if it is necessary... But don't trust her!"

Moira was tired and swatted at the table. "Oliver, please! Do you want to stop acting as if you were 7 years old instead of 27?"

Oliver crossed his arms and frowned. Okay, maybe he was exaggerating and might even seem ridiculous. He knew that, probably, Felicity was a good vet and he shouldn't have reacted like that, but too many things had changed. He shouldn't have left...or maybe shouldn't have ever returned. He was so happy and calm living in his apartment in the centre... Now his life could not be more complicated. He was trying to recover an ex-girlfriend about to say "I do" and had to spend all day beside the one person who got him to lose his temper the most.

She fumbled for her keys in the small backpack that she used to carry her things. She hated purses for they seemed uncomfortable and useless, only using them when the situation required. She found the keys and opened the door. Once inside the house, she went into the living room and dropped on one of the couches. She was exhausted. She had not even bothered to look at the time, but it was very late. After they finished dinner she'd stayed for a long time talking to Moira and the time had flown. She was about to fall asleep right there when her sister's voice startled her.

"Have you been with him till now?"

"Laurel... You scared me." She sat upright, watching her sister. "What are you doing up? It's late."

Laurel sat next to her. "I was waiting. I wanted to know..."

"What?"

"Everything... I do not know. It's been many hours since you left with Ollie ... "

Felicity looked at her seriously. "That shouldn't matter to you."

Laurel scrunched up her nose "I'm curious..."

Felicity didn't believe her. "Yeah, sure." She looked severely at her. "You should worry about your future husband and your wedding and forget all this charade."

"I worry about that too..."

"When is Tommy coming back?"

"Tomorrow or the day after. He had to finish some work in the city." After a moment of silence and seeing that Felicity wouldn't say anything, she asked, "Aren't you going to tell me?"

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Laurel, seriously, I swear I do not understand how you still hold onto him."

Laurel ran her hands over her face. "I know! I know... but I cannot help it... It's Ollie!"

"I don't care if it's the Pope!" She got up and walked around the room. "You're getting married, Laurel! This is not a two-week boyfriend that we are talking about. He's going to be your husband! "

Laurel ducked her head and chose to ignore her sister's comment. She knew she should not think that way, but it was impossible. There'd been a time when Ollie had been everything to her, and now that he was back she couldn't act as if it had never happened.

After a few minutes in silence Laurel spoke again. "Have you seen how handsome he is?" Felicity threw a reproachful look her way. "Don't look at me like that! It's obvious! It doesn't matter if you are engaged or if you hate him... If he is handsome, he's handsome."

"You're overreacting."

"And that beard? It makes him so much sexier!"

Felicity opened her eyes. "Laurel! Have you been spying on him through the window or what?!"

"No! Well... a little..." She looked back at Felicity. "And how is he now? Has anything changed?"

Felicity sighed in resignation. Her sister was stubborn and wouldn't stop until she told her everything. "Unfortunately, he's still just as much of a jerk as ever, maybe more." She went to the door. "I'm going to sleep, it is very late and I have things to do early tomorrow." Before leaving she looked back at Laurel. "I recommend you think about all that's happening to you before it's too late... If you're not sure of your feelings you should not marry Tommy."

"I'm sure of what I feel for Tommy... I love him."

"Well, then you should talk to Oliver and get things clear. I think you owe yourself that conversation... Even if it is to settle things for once."

She left room and went upstairs wondering how her sister could be so calm when she didn't know what she really wanted. Felicity didn't understand, she always needed to know what to do, keep things clear... and all of this, the idea of marrying in just one week without being one hundred percent sure, was incomprehensible for her.

Oliver had been in bed for a while, half awake. His mother had woke him before she went to work, but he hadn't any intention of getting up until at least a couple of hours' time. He had nothing else to do that morning and his bed was very comfortable and warm.

He was about to fall asleep again when someone entered the room, making the daylight flood into the space and blind him.

He covered his head with the sheet and growled. So much light hurt his eyes.

The person who had opened the window approached him and began shaking him roughly.

"Do not be lazy and wake up, Oliver!"

Oliver remove the sheet off his head and looked at her. Then he pressed his fists to his eyes tightly, half convinced that, when he looked again, she would not be there. It had to be an hallucination or something... He was half asleep, sure it was a dream... Well, more like a nightmare, to be more specific. He removed his hands from his eyes. She was still there.

What the hell was Felicity doing in his room?

Felicity crossed her arms. "My plans don't include staying here all morning to look at how you sleep, Queenie."

"Well, then you should go, because that's all I mean to do. Sleep until noon."

He turned over and closed his eyes. He was completely serious, he had no thought to get out of bed… She would have to sit and wait.

After a few minutes showing her his back, he began to get nervous. Oliver could feel her eyes fixed on his neck... it was a really uncomfortable feeling.

He turned to look at her. "I told you to go!"

"Not without you."

Oliver frowned, it was impossible to argue with her. Felicity always had the last word.

"How did you get in? My mother is not here."

Felicity waved a set of keys in face face. "With the key."

"What?! Do you have keys to my house?" Felicity nodded. "This is the last straw…"

He stuck his head under the pillow and pretended to sob. It was clear that he wasn't gonna have a minute of peace while he stayed in town.

Felicity pulled the pillow off his head. "Don't be a whiner and get up. We don't have all day."

"For what?"

"We have to go to town... I have several errands to do and many things to pick up."

Oliver covered his head again. "I'm not going."

Felicity took the sheet off his head. "Don't be lazy... Come on Oliver! Get up... I warn you, I will take the sheets with me!" She pulled them a little lower as she spoke. "And you know what? That's something I don't want to do... I'm scared in case you sleep naked. It's an image that I'd prefer to spare myself." She made an over dramatic gesture.

"You wish... God knows what kind of guys you've been..."

"With a lot better than you, I assure you."

Oliver decided it was best to go with her. The sooner he got up, the sooner they'll end with her errands and he could get rid of her. He rose from the bed and stretched. He looked at Felicity and saw how she looked at him and began to blush. Oliver could not help but smile. That girl always found a way to surprise him. Was she blushing because he was in his underwear? Felicity was the last person he would have imagined being embarrassed by such a thing.

"What's wrong Felicity? Haven't you ever seen a man in his underwear?"

Felicity opened her mouth offended. "You're a jerk, Oliver!"

"For sleeping like this?"

"For getting up half naked while I was here."

"I didn't take you for a nun... Did you really get nervous just to see me like this? Hahaha. If you are going to feel more comfortable you can remove your clothes too, just so we're even. "

Felicity noticed her cheeks were burning. This kind of situation always embarrassed her, she didn't know why, but she wasn't even comfortable seeing her sister in underwear... How would she feel comfortable seeing Oliver? She felt that the intimacies were better kept to yourself... except in situations where the occasion deserved.

Felicity was increasingly embarrassed. "You're a...! A…! A douchebag!"

Oliver showed an average smile. "...but you can't stop looking at me."

Felicity's eyes widened. If it wasn't for the lack of Oliver's clothing, she would have jumped to beat him at that moment. Embarrassed, she turned around. "Moron!"

She left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Once alone, he fell into the bed, laughing.

Okay, that girl riled up, but this time she had made him laugh as he hadn't in a long time.


	3. Part III

**PART III**

He left the shower and got ready before going down to the kitchen, where Felicity was waiting. Before getting into the room, he stood leaning against the jamb of the door, watching her. Oliver didn't know if she really was so shameless as it appeared or she was just overreacting. She had helped herself to breakfast! That girl was unbelievable. Were they so poor at her home that they couldn't give her food? Yesterday he had her at dinner and now at breakfast…it was starting to be overwhelming.

"Why didn't you eat breakfast at home?"

"I did."

Oliver looked at her, opening his eyes. "What are you doing now, then?"

Felicity smiled. "These cereals your mother buys are delicious... I love them!"

"She bought them for me, don't eat them."

"She's also been buying them for you for the last seven years?"

Oliver looked at her sternly and she bit her lower lip, smiling. It was so funny to make him itch... but no, it would be better not to insist more and leave him alone. They had many hours ahead and too many errands to start an argument.

Felicity reached into the cereal box and stole a few more. "You have a car, right?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just checking how we will get to the city."

"Yes I have a car, but I'm not gonna use it."

Felicity raised an eyebrow. "And how do you want us to go? Flying? Or perhaps you can teleport us?"

"We're going in yours."

"I don't drive."

Oliver laughed. "You don't drive? At your age?"

"What has my age got to do with it?! No, I don't drive, you idiot! So we'll have to take your car to go there."

"We'll go on the bus."

"Do you have any idea of the amount of things we need to get? We need a car."

Oliver shrugged "Not mine...I'm not gonna ruin the upholstery with all your stuff."

"You're such a snob! It's not a Jaguar, you know."

"I really like my car, that's all."

"I guess the previous owners also liked it. What is it? Second, third hand?"

"Very funny. I assure you that there will be very few times you'll get into a car like that."

Felicity rose from the chair. "I'll do it today."

"No, you won't."

"Yes."

"I said no!"

Felicity was putting him on edge. She kept touching all the buttons and levers of the car, jumping, playing with the stereo...it was worse than travelling with a five year old girl.

Oliver was losing his patience.

"Could you stop? You're going to break something!"

"God, Queenie! I love your car!" She looked at the button that was between the two seats and pointed. "What is that?"

"Don't push...!"

He raised a hand to his forehead and rubbed it. Why did she ask anything if she ended up pressing it without waiting for an answer? Felicity had pressed the button and watched the car roof excitedly.

Oliver clenched his jaw. "You're gonna clog the car hood. Couldn't you leave it how it was?" He pointed to the button she had pressed. "From there it goes up and down."

"Don't you dare to turn it down!" She closed her eyes and leaned against the seat. "It's so good to feel the air on your face...I've always wanted to ride in a convertible!"

Oliver rolled his eyes and refocused on the road. The village was not far from the city, just 15 minutes with the car, but with Felicity next to him, it seemed twice as long.

He shook his head to hear her sing the song playing on the radio. Deep down, he had to recognise that her enthusiasm was contagious... He found himself almost smiling. She was infecting him with the desire to start singing too... He frowned and shook his head again, what nonsense! Sing with her full-throated...they'll both seem crazy.

He looked at her and had to admit that, as there was a side of Felicity that drove him crazy, there was another part of her that amused him, and which sometimes was a pleasure to see. Like that time, or that morning in the room.

He began to laugh, remembering how she was blushing.

Felicity hit him in the arm. "Don't laugh at me! I'm not that bad a singer."

"I'm not laughing about that."

"What then? Tell me and we both can laugh."

"I do not think you're gonna see the fun in it..."

"Well, I have a very good sense of humour."

"Okay so, if you want to know… It's about this morning."

Felicity frowned. "What happened this morning?"

Oliver laughed again. "You and your ridiculousness…" when she was expecting something more he kept talking, "…my underwear?"

Felicity's face turned angry and she looked at the road. "That wasn't funny!"

"I already warned you..."

"Don't laugh!"

"Well, you do have to recognise that it is very funny...it's even ridiculous. That can happen to you at 11 years... it's understandable... But at 25? Don't you see it's exaggerated?"

Felicity looked offended. "To me, those are embarrassing situations, it does not matter if I'm 11 years old or 30... If you like to show your body around, then you should get a job at a strip club, jerk! but leave me alone."

Oliver laughed with more enthusiasm, which caused her to be even more angry. He had no right to laugh like that and call her ridiculous. If she did not feel comfortable with people half naked beside her, it was her problem and nobody had to question it...much less Oliver, who barely knew anything about her.

"Pull over the car."

"What?"

"I said, pull over the car."

"Why?"

Felicity took a deep breath. "I want to get out."

Oliver tried to guess what had happened. Did his jokes bother her that much? Because they were just that, jokes… He never had the intention to make her feel bad or offend her.

They were already entering the city and he did not intend to stop now. He had promised to go with her to all her errands and that's what he intended to do.

"I told you to stop! Are you deaf?" she said, angry.

"We have not arrived. There are a few streets more."

"I don't care! I want to get out now. Either you stop, or I jump out the car. Your choice."

Oliver huffed and pulled the car onto the sidewalk so she could get out. He didn't know how, but she always got what she wanted... Well, he didn't care if she stayed alone at the entrance of the city... and by what he had seen the day before, she looked capable of jumping if he didn't stop.

"Get out if you want. I'd prefer to leave you here before you do something stupid that could ruin my car…" She left the car and slammed the door. "Careful!"

Felicity ignored him and started walking down the street. Oliver ran his hands over his face. He'll go back to the town and leave her there. It's what she deserved for...for...for being annoying and too proud. But instead of speeding up and getting away from her, he began to slowly follow her, staying at her side.

Why couldn't he leave?

He didn't have to worry about her. Felicity had decided to get out of the car…it was her decision.

"I wasn't laughing at you."

"I'm not asking."

"Come on, Felicity, stop with this nonsense and get in the car..."

"Go home, Queen. Didn't you say you didn't want to come? Then leave."

That's exactly what he should do, leave and let her manage all her errands by herself. If he didn't want to go with her in the first place, why was he now insisting?

But for some strange reason he didn't understand, he wasn't able to leave her there.

"I am sorry."

Felicity stopped and turned to him. "What did you say?"

Oliver stopped the car. "I'm apologising. I'm sorry I called you ridiculous and that I laughed at your attitude."

Felicity looked down.

She didn't expect an a apology... Nor was it what she wanted for her behavior. She was just angry and had left the car because she didn't want to be with him. She didn't expect any gesture from him to fix things...and, deep down, she had to admit that his gesture was kind of tender...

"You forgive me?" Felicity nodded slightly. "So... Could you get in the car now? Can we now continue our journey?"

Felicity looked at him, annoyed. All he wanted was to change her mind? She was so wrong when she thought she saw something positive in him... All that he wanted was to get away with it. He was giving her the reason as she was a crazy person, and that was something she hated.

"I don't want your apologies, you idiot."

Oliver didn't understand anything. What had he done now? He had apologised, he had apologised for his attitude. Isn't that correct? Women, especially Felicity, were very complicated for him...

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Felicity, who had begun to walk again, turned and looked at him, furious. "I don't need any idiot to kiss my ass!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"That you don't have to flatter me just to keep me happy."

"I'm not doing that! I was apologising!"

Felicity crossed her arms. "Yeah, but only because you wanted me to get into the car again."

Oliver nodded. "Among other things ... but also because it was what I felt I had to do." Felicity lowered her head and kept listening. "Or do you think I'm the kind of person who does something that I don't believe I should do? I seriously didn't want to make fun of you... It just seemed funny to me... But you felt offended, and I apologised for that... Look, I'm gonna propose you something to make things easier for both of us." Felicity became more interested in what he was about to say. "It is clear that we are not the best of friends, and that quite often we prefer to break the other's head before listening to each other... but I think we owe ourselves a truce. We can't be arguing all this week Felicity, we would go crazy."

"So what do you want? Be friends?"

Oliver shake his head. "Well, friends... I don't know, but we have to start with something, right?" Felicity nodded, dubious. "So... Deal?"

Felicity opened the car door and sat down. "Deal."

She didn't know what would happen with that kind of pact with Oliver... maybe she even should have listened. There were probably some tricks...but his words had sounded sincere. It was silly to trust him that way because she barely knew him... but there was something, maybe the way he had spoken, or how he look at her... He had something that reached to her, and she couldn't understand it... why did she felt so good with him? It was strange, but this nonsense to start being friends made her feel very comfortable, very in peace.

Oliver looked at the building in which Felicity had entered. She hadn't been inside five minutes when she came outside and walked to the car, where he was waiting, looking very angry.

"I'm surrounded by incompetence!"

"What happened?"

"We had already confirmed the wedding photographer, I just came to finish some things with him, and now it turns out that there is no photographer!"

"How that there is no photographer?"

Felicity blew her cheeks out in a huff. "He's gone on vacation!" Oliver didn't understand. "It seems that he won a prize and went."

"But... he can't do that! If you have previous commitments you have to call them to let them know that you won't be able to do it or you leave after doing your job!"

"Well, he did! And now we don't have a photographer!"

Oliver hesitated before speak. "I could help…"

"You? How?"

"I'm a photographer, I could do the wedding job."

Felicity raised an eyebrow and laughed. Hard. "The wedding photographer? You?"

Oliver was offended. "What's so funny? It's my job, I take pictures."

"Yeah, and I think it's great...but do you really want to take photos of Laurel's wedding?"

Oliver shrugged. "Why not?"

"Because your higher purpose right now is to ruin the wedding? How will you do it?" Oliver was silent. "Come on Queenie, we'd better finish our other errands before we start running late."

He put the car on without a word. He was thinking about Felicity's last words. Why hadn't he thought of Laurel all day? He had gone back for her, not to be shopping with her sister...but the truth was that he was doing exclusively the last thing. He was spending every moment of the day with Felicity...and strangely that idea no longer exasperated him as much as the day before, even more, the last hours in the city had been quite nice and Felicity had made him forget for a day who had brought him back... Was that good? He didn't know for sure...but it was better than to be sad because of that stupid wedding.

The first thing he did when he woke up was take one of the bags he had brought with him and get some of his photos. He had been up all night thinking about this situation and yet he didn't know what he wanted to do about Laurel, the wedding or the pictures...but he knew he wanted to show his work to Felicity. The day before he had had the feeling that she hadn't believed that he had a studio in the capital and really was a photographer. He didn't know why, but had the need to have Felicity see and appreciate his work. With a lot of folders under his arm he left home to go get her.

He hadn't advanced two metres when someone grabbed his arm.

"Did you think to escape me?"

Oliver smiled. "Actually I was looking for you!"

Felicity raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah? For me? That's a first... Is it that the tables have turned, or what? Now you're chasing after me?"

Oliver showed her the folders. "I wanted you to see this."

"And that is…?"

"My photos."

Felicity closed her eyes. "Are you still going with that? You're not going to do the wedding photos, get used to the idea." She started walking, leaving him standing behind.

Oliver grabbed her arm and turned her to him. "It's not about that. I just want you to see them."

Felicity smiled. In just one day things had changed considerably. Now he cared about her opinion? She liked that...it was nice to feel that someone needed something from you, even if it was a simple opinion on some pictures. She bit her lower lip and nodded, indicating that he follow her. They entered a small cafe and sat.

"Why the sudden interest about me seeing them?"

"I don't know... Yesterday I got the feeling that you didn't take me seriously when I told you that I work doing this."

Felicity showed him an average smile. "You mean like when you found out that I was the vet?"

"But mine was understandable…! After so many years I came back thinking that everything was the same, and I found a completely different town... I think it was normal that I didn't take well to all those changes."

Felicity nodded. "Well, are you going to show me something or not?"

Oliver smiled and began to take pictures out of the folders. "Before you start to look at them, you should know that this is not my best work... these are personal pictures, of my travels and my things...they are not made in a studio and much less with the most powerful cameras. But those I have at home."

Oliver seemed excited as he talked about his work, it was like a small child who is explaining the operation of a new toy. Felicity smiled again, it was obvious that photography was important to him...it was part of his life. As much as for her the clinic and animals.

And he was good...very good. She had rarely seen pictures like that...they were pictures that transmitted, even when most of them were landscapes or buildings. They were simple images, but made at the right time and in which you could almost breathe the atmosphere in there.

"They're beautiful." She kept turning pictures. "My God! So many different places!" She looked up to face him. "You've really been to all those places?"

Oliver smiled. "Yes...since I left here until I set up the studio. I've spent my life travelling...I almost like travel as much as I love taking pictures."

Felicity's eyes widened as she recognized the scene of one of the photos. "New York! Have you been there?!"

Oliver nodded. "Five years ago, after traveling to Italy. I spent a few months there."

"I would love to go all those places... Where else have you been?"

"France, London, Mexico..." He smiled. "I've been nomadic during these years."

Felicity bit her lower lip. "I envy you..."

Oliver raised his eyebrows. "You? Envy me? He laughed, "this moment should have been immortalized. Felicity Smoak recognizing she envies someone!"

She raised her hand to hit him across the table.

"Don't make fun!" She looked back to the New York photograph. "It's true... You can't imagine how I would have liked to leave the village as you did, knowing all these places...I don't know..." She looked at him, sighing. "Here everything is so monotonous, so routine..."

"Don't think it's all so beautiful...it's hard to be alone."

"Well, it is not like I am in much more company than you are..."

"I don't mean a couple, you can find that anywhere...I mean family. Here you have Laurel, Sarah... even my mother."

"Yes, that's true..." She looked forward. "Tell me more about your trips!"

Oliver grinned and began to speak. He had never spoken to anyone about his travels or his life...it was true what he said, those had been lonely years. He only had some friends in town, but none of them even came close to be like the friends who had left at home. They had been chatting animatedly for almost an hour when he saw a guy approach the table and began to ruffle Felicity's hair.

"Smoaky! I'm mad at you, huh!... I arrived yesterday and you haven't come to see me... very bad of you."

"Tommy! Don't touch my hair! You know I hate it..." She combed her hair with her fingers and stared. "And if I didn't go to see you yesterday it was because I was busy. "

That "Tommy" guy turned and looked down. Oliver felt a little uncomfortable. He didn't know who he was and the guy looked at him as if trying to figure out if he was dangerous then turned to Felicity again.

"Yeah...occupied with this blondie?"

Oliver was about to say something. Who did that idiot think he was? but Felicity intervened before him.

"Do you mean Oliver?" She seemed nervous. "Oliver is...is...a friend...mine... Yes, my friend...that's..."

"Another "friend"?... Felicity, always the same, huh? You don't stop…"

Felicity decided to follow his game. "Yeah, you know me." She got up and grabbed his arm pulling him toward the door. "I'll see you in a bit and we can continue talking Tommy, right now I can't."

Oliver watched as they said goodbye. He didn't like that guy a bit... Felicity returned to the table and sat down.

"Who was that clown?"

"He's not a clown!"

Oliver rolled his eyes. "He is… Besides, I am now your new "friend"? Such an assho..."

Felicity broke him off. "Tommy is adorable! So please don't mess with him."

"Are you interested in him?"

Felicity looked as if he just said the dumbest thing in the world and burst out laughing. Oliver frowned, Felicity being interested in that Tommy guy wasn't that funny, they clearly had a good relationship. Well, he'd only seen that relationship for five minutes... but it was enough to know he didn't like that guy for her.

"Tommy and me?... Oh, God..."

"What other reason is there to make him believe that I'm your new conquest?"

"We were just joking."

"Yes, sure."

He turned his head and looked toward the street. He was in a bad mood...and what was worse was that he didn't understand why. He had no reason to get angry! What did he care about Felicity's relationship with Tommy? He was trying to convince himself that why he had such a bad mood was that he didn't liked Tommy, when he saw something on the street that make him froze.

He looked at Felicity seriously. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"That."

He pointed to the outside of the cafe through the windows. Felicity turned her head to see what he was talking about and sighed.

Tommy and Laurel were kissing in the street.

She should have told him that Tommy was Laurel's fiancé, but she couldn't...she didn't dare. She wasn't sure how he was going to take it, so she chose to remain silent, clearly she hadn't counted on that.

"You should have told me!"

He put all the photos back in the folder and, after paying the waiter, left the establishment. He felt bad, anguished... He knew Laurel was going to marry, he shouldn't have been surprised because of that image...but it wasn't the same imagining it as seeing it. He sat on a bench in a park and covered his face with his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. He was an idiot...he had returned to seek an illusion, something that however much he insisted, he wasn't going to recover.

Someone sat beside him and put an arm around his shoulders rubbing his back. He knew it was Felicity, partly because there was no one else at that time who could worry about him and partly because she had something that made him recognize her without even looking at her.

"You knew she was engaged... it was only a matter of time until you saw them together..."

Oliver continued with his face in his hands. "I know... I know that."

Felicity rubbed his back with more strength. "Come on, Queenie, cheer up..."

Oliver turned to her and locked his head in her chest, hugging her with all his strength. He needed containment, knowing that there was someone with him...and Felicity was the person who, in those moments, could give him that... She was almost the only one that with he would dare to do something like that. He was strong, never collapsed...and that feeling that came over him now… He felt he could only share it with her.

Minutes passed, Felicity couldn't say how many, but there had been enough when he finally let her go. She had been noticing how he calmed down, slowly. She would never have imagined such a reaction from Oliver, but since the moment he held her, she felt the need to make him feel good, to transmit through that simple gesture full support...support that two days ago she would have given to anybody but him.

Oliver rose from the bench and took a couple of steps away, rubbed his face and turned to look at her.

"I'll invite you to spend the day together."

Felicity smiled. "We are gonna spend the day together even if you don't invite me."

"I know... but I invite you as a friend. Not because you want to check that I will not mess with your sister... Let's just be two friends having fun together." Oliver extended a hand. "Do you accept?"

"I do," she said, taking his hand.

Felicity was swinging slowly on the swing while talking nonstop, and he listened quietly and with apparent attention. Things weren't like the first day, Felicity chattering trying to break the awkward silence or annoy him with something. Now she spoke because she knew that he listened with interest.

It was already dark and they were in the town park running out the last hours of the day...one day that had been fantastic. They hadn't done anything special; they just had spent the morning in the next village. After eating in the car, they returned to their village and now they were talking, walking and talking. They had much more in common than they had thought...almost had more similarities than differences now that they were given the opportunity to meet each other.

Oliver laughed. "Have you ever thought of looking at that?"

"What?"

"Your verbal incontinence... You don't shut up!" He looked at his watch. "Have you noticed all the hours you've been talking nonstop?"

"You also have spoken..."

Oliver laughed and sat on the swing next to hers. "Do you want to do a competition?"

"What type?"

Oliver started to swing. "Let's see which of the two of us jumps higher from the swing."

Felicity began to swing too and laughed. "I used to play this as a child with my sisters, and I always won."

"Well, today you're going to lose."

Felicity swung with strength. "I never lose, Queenie! On three, we jump!"

"One!"

"Two!"

And neither waited for the arrival of the three. They both jumped around the time Felicity finished pronouncing the word Two, sticking a blow against the ground and rolling over each other. Felicity was trapped beneath him.

"You cheated! I haven't said three."

"You didn't wait either."

"I'm not talking about me... I'm just saying you're a cheater, what I am... is something else..." She pulled her arm from under his body, where it was stuck. "Ouch! I hurt myself in the fall... you have really funny ideas, Queenie. We are too old to do these things... And I'm a little younger... I don't want to imagine how your injuries have been…"

Oliver put his hand over her mouth. "You can not do it, right?"

Felicity raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Be quiet."

"Of course I can! However long you want..."

"Okay... let's try. Let's see how long you are able to be silent."

Felicity nodded and stared into his eyes, taking him up on the challenge. Soon, she was starting to get lost in his eyes, and then she noticed how Oliver slowly lowered the hand that he'd put over her mouth to her neck, starting to tinker with the earlobe.

She got nervous, her heart started beating very quickly... She knew what was going to happen, and she also knew how she was going to react when it happened… She closed her eyes and waited. It didn't take long to notice Oliver's lips on hers, kissing her… a kiss that, as she knew, she was going to respond with everything in her.


	4. Part IV

PART IV

Oliver didn't know what had happened but he had just felt the need to kiss her. He didn't understand... Felicity had never had any traits that would make him want to kiss her... The thought of him and Felicity together in the same sentence had always seemed ridiculous to him but the truth was that now he was kissing her, and she was kissing him back and neither of them seemed displeased with that.

He pulled back slowly without really knowing what to say or what to do. He stroked her cheek with the palm of his hand and sat on the lawn before she would have time to open her eyes.

Felicity felt the air hit directly in her face again and opened her eyes. She was like… in a cloud... It was hard to explain, but she hadn't even noticed that he'd separated from her. The kiss had left her clouded, it was curious how something she'd never think of, something that seems so unreal, could make her feel so good... Because she felt so great, better than ever.

She sat too and looked at Oliver. Felicity couldn't help but smile. She knew it had been just that, a kiss... a perfect kiss that would not go further. But she didn't care. She was ok with that, she didn't expect or ask for anything.

Felicity placed her hand on his nape and ran her fingers through his hair. "It's getting late."

Oliver stood. "Yes, it's already dark... I'll take you home. The car is..".

"Thanks, but I think I prefer walking."

He saw her turn around and head to the exit. Wasn't she going to ask anything? He scratched his head... It was much better for him if she didn't because he had no answer to give...

"Felicity!"

Felicity turned around and smiled. "Yes?"

"Are you upset?"

Oliver lowered his head and stared at his feet. Why the hell did he speak up? What if she answered him yes, she was angry? It was obvious that things between them didn't go further, but still he had some fear that because of that kiss, those little steps they had improved in their relationship during those days were disrupted. It may be nonsense, but now he had managed to get along with her and be comfortable with her company, he didn't want to ruin it.

"I mean what just happened... I wouldn't want you to get mad..."

Felicity walked back to him and leaned giving him a small kiss. "You haven't done anything offensive. I have no reason to get angry."

Oliver took her face in his hands. "I'm glad to hear that, I find it very nice, this thing of being friends..."

Felicity smiled again and circled his neck. He approached her and rejoined their lips.

Tomorrow everything would run as usual, there would be no more kisses or more gestures of affection from either of them. She was completely sure of that and for that reason she didn't want to go home without having kissed Oliver even if it was just once more. The feelings that invaded her just to kiss him, to hug him... made her feel too good to not take advantage of it.

"I should go now."

Oliver nodded and kissed her one last time. "See you tomorrow."

She turned around and started walking away from him. Oliver sat on the same swing on which they had been swinging earlier. When he left home that morning the last thing that had crossed his mind was that he would finish the day swinging in the park after having kissed Felicity... but there he was; in a park, sitting on a swing and grinning like an idiot.

She shook her head noticing a slight tingling in her face and turned in bed, covering herself with the sheets. A few seconds later something started to blow gently on the ear and she moved again. Either there was a gadfly in her room or her sister Laurel was pushing her buttons... Doesn't she know to wake her up normally ?! Calling her name or something? She sat up in bed and saw her looking bored.

"Laurel! I hate you to wake me up with tickles and nonsense!"

Laurel laughed and got into the bed with her. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"And you couldn't wait to wake me up?" She looked at the clock on the nightstand. "It's seven o'clock!" She lay down again and covered her head with the blankets. "It is impossible to speak at 7 am., I'm not human yet!"

"Please Felicity... I need your advice."

Felicity snorted and sat up, folding her arms. "What now?"

"I don't know if I should talk to Oliver or just not see him at all."

Felicity rolled her eyes and sighed. Her sister was the most indecisive person she knew ... Right now she had to go for advice about Oliver? Honestly, she didn't believe she was capable at that time of being impartial.

"You already know my opinion."

"Yeah. Forget Oliver. Focus on Tommy."

Felicity looked at her and frowned. "Is that the attention you pay to me when I speak?" Laurel looked at her without understanding. "When did I say that?"

"Well... not with those words... but more or less... it's what you meant."

Felicity got up from the bed. "Well, then you understand me very badly Laurel! What I've always said is that, before doing anything or before giving such an important step like marriage, you have to be one hundred percent sure." She sat at the end of the bed. "And well, you should also take into account all the years you've been with Tommy, how good you feel with him... I don't think you should throw it all away just because of a whim."

Laurel covered her face with her hands. "I would never do that to Tommy! But you have to understand me... I need to see him. Since I found out Oliver is in town I have this feeling… eating me inside." Felicity stood and turned, opening the closet to get clothes. "I need you to help me Felicity."

"How?"

"I want to see him… Can you bring him to me?"

Felicity turned and opened her eyes. What the hell was her sister thinking? That she was available to do all she commanded? She had a life of her own and in recent weeks it seemed that life had been reduced to help her with the preparations for the ceremony and to be a guard dog. She was sick of it.

"Don't you have two legs to take yourself to him?"

Laurel took the comment as a joke. "I'm serious, Felicity."

Felicity raised an eyebrow. "Me too... Haven't you realised that you spend your life asking for favours? We both know that you're no fool, not lame, or deaf, or dumb... You can doing things for yourself, you know? You're not going to die."

Laurel was surprised by her reaction. "What problem do you have with me?"

Felicity ran a hand over her forehead as a sign of fatigue. "First you, then you and finally you... More and more I wonder how selfish you become Laurel. I have to have a problem with YOU? It can be something with me? Something that has nothing to do with you for once..."

"I don't know Felicity... you never talked to me like this."

"Because so far, I have been patient and I've been holding... but I'm done." Felicity looked at her sister. "Have you ever worried about who has been taking care of my clinic for the last two weeks? Because in case you haven't noticed, I've been a hundred percent stuck with your stuff. And what I obtained in return? Not a simple "Thank you" from you."

"I didn't think you were doing it for thanks. If I had known that helping me bothers you so much, I wouldn't have let you do it. "

"It's not about that... but sometimes it's just good that someone values your work."

Laurel rolled her eyes. "Okay... okay. Thank you for taking so much trouble with my wedding."

Felicity turned around and ended up picking clothes at random from the closet. Honestly, this kind of appreciation from her sister was worse than if she had remained silent and said nothing. If you didn't feel you had to thank someone for something, it was better not to force it.

Laurel spoke again before Felicity left the room. "So… Are you going to help me with Ollie?"

That made her want to turn around and drop a "Go to hell, Laurel" but she simply looked at her sternly and then went into the bathroom. Felicity didn't know if Laurel had really exhausted her patience or if that morning she was too sensitive and overreacting to everything. She checked her watch and sighed. It was too early to go to find Oliver... Oliver, would he be the reason that she had been so angry? She shook her head trying to get rid of those doubts. Everything was fine with Oliver, normal... and that kiss had meant nothing to her. Had she liked it? Of course... but if she'd wanted to marry all the boys who had ever given her a good kiss... the list would be endless.

He approached the camera to her face and took another picture. Felicity turned trying to make a serious gesture, as if scolding, but all she got was laughter.

"Stop taking pictures of me, Oliver! You've been doing it all morning. "

"I haven't taken that many..."

Felicity raised an eyebrow and grabbed the camera. "Nineteen. Don't you get bored taking pictures?"

Oliver shrugged "It's my job."

He lay on the beach sand and closed his eyes as he let Felicity snoop with his camera. It was already afternoon, and they had spent all morning together, they had eaten and now they had come to a small cove of the village. Last night, when he got home, his head was a mess. He wouldn't know exactly how things would be between them after "the park thing", and that made him nervous. But when Felicity came to pick him up in the morning and saw that she was behaving quite naturally and normally, he relaxed.

He heard the sound of the camera taking a picture and opened his eyes to look at Felicity.

She returned the camera to him. "You still owe me eighteen."

"Give me that, I should keep it in my car… knowing you, you're gonna break it."

"You don't know me at all."

"Oh yeah! I do! You're like a little girl ... entangling. Entangling and talkative."

"That's because I don't like being silent... Well, sometimes I do but it's rare."

"Really? I hadn't noticed..." He leaned back putting his elbows back on the sand. "I think sometimes we need a little moment of peace and quiet, like now for instance." He turned his head to look at her. "Isn't this place relaxing?"

Felicity smiled. "That's because we are in autumn ... autumn beaches are always so quiet. Mostly this one, it is always so quiet even in midsummer."

"It was always one of my favourite places."

"When I was little my grandmother told me a story about the name of the beach ... now I can't remember, but I remember it sounded like a bad tale..."

Oliver sat down and pointed to the rocks. "You see that?" Felicity nodded. "They say that when they discovered this cove those rocks were shaped like letters. And they took the name from them."

"On the rocks was "Uria"?"

Oliver nodded. "Exactly, hence this place is called that."

"You see? What I said, lie. Big fat lie."

"You don't believe it?"

Felicity looked at him raising her eyebrows. "That's a story the elders invented to tell their grandchildren." She looked toward the rocks. "It is impossible that that ever had the shape of those letters." She turned to Oliver again. "What a coincidence that they formed a more or less coherent word!"

"Why do you question everything?"

Felicity frowned. "Because I'm smart and that has no logic. I don't believe it."

Oliver laughed. "Are you aware that if all those grandparents hear you say that, they're going to hit you with their sticks?"

Felicity narrowed her eyes. "They wouldn't dare... Totally changing the subject, I think we should be leaving."

They talked animatedly as they left the beach. Having advanced a few metres Felicity got quiet and started to think through the conversation she'd had with Laurel in the morning... She felt bad, they never fight, not like that, and she could recognise that she had quite overreacted.

Felicity being quiet was weird, so Oliver asked. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing… I..." At that moment she put a finger to her lips indicating silence and frowned.

"What's happening to you?"

She told him again to shut up and crouched beside some bushes looking at something between them

"Don't put your hands there!" He grabbed her shoulder trying move her.. "That's full of prickles! You could hurt yourself on those!"

"Wait a minute!"

Oliver snorted and thrust his hands into the back pockets. He was too scrupulous and didn't understand what motive could have had Felicity putting her hands on the thorny bushes. Well... it was just a few abandoned brambles... But there wasn't anything there in autumn, it could be anything from trash heaps in summer, to the remains that could push any tramp from that area.

Felicity turned to look at him with a smile from ear to ear.

"Look."

Oliver crouched beside her and looked where she told him. He didn't know whether to smile as she was doing or run. He hated those things… they filled everything with hair and scratches. And they were babies, five kittens to be exact. The kittens were worse than adults, playing and nipping everything they find.

"They are so cute!"

Oliver wasn't that excited. "They are… furry."

Felicity caught one of them with one hand and stood, putting it close to her face for a kiss. Oliver watched her with a disgusted expression.

"Don't kiss it! What if you got rabies or scabies?"

Felicity laughed. "You're such a sniveller, Oliver." She grabbed the cat between her hands and approached him. "Do you really think this precious little thing can have any disease?"

Oliver stepped back. "I'd rather not touch it, just in case."

Felicity bent down again laughing, leaving the cat with the rest. "They shouldn't be more than three days old... poor little things. The mother has to have them and leave them here."

"Well, they're not children... just cats. It doesn't matter where they are."

"Don't say that! It's cruel." She turned back to the cats. "I won't leave you here alone."

"And what will you do?"

Felicity was already putting cats in a box that was nearby. "Take them to the clinic."

"How?! Do you think you'll put them in my car?"

"Is there a problem?"

"No way! Don't! Cats stay here."

"What?! Cats will come with me! It's cold, it may rain, there are animals that can harm them... I'm not going to let them back into those brambles!"

"And I won't let them get in the car!" He counted on his fingers. "They are very small, scratch the upholstery, they can relieve their needs in the seats, get everything covered with hairs... No! Cats don't enter the car!"

She was angry, very angry. So angry that, right that moment she could throw all the cats at Oliver's head... She totally would, if she was sure that those poor cats would not get hurt in the process. She didn't understand how he could prefer not to spoil his car to shelter some poor defenceless baby cat... But she wasn't gonna let him! Either she left with the cats or she wasn't moving. She looked at him defiantly and sat on the floor folding her arms, with the box on her lap.

"What are you doing?"

"Stay with the cats. And I'll call a cab or someone to come get me. "

"Do you think that a taxi will allow you in with that?"

"I'm not asking your opinion!" She pointed at his car. "Don't you love it that much? Then you can leave now!"

"It's getting dark, Felicity, it's dangerous for you to stay here alone."

"I'm not leaving without them."

"And I won't leave without you either."

"What will you do to stop me? I'm a big girl, I don't need anyone watching me back…"

But she couldn't keep talking because Oliver bent down, pulled the box out of her hands and caught her in his arms, lifting her off the ground and over his shoulder.

"You leave me no choice but to force you."

Felicity was furious. "Put me down! Moron! I don't want to go with you." She started hitting blows at his back. "Let me let go! When I get rid of you I'll crush you! Moron!"

They reached the car and Oliver opened the passenger door, leaving Felicity in the seat and buttoning her belt without giving the possibility to get out again. He walked around the car and got into his seat. He started the car. He wasn't looking, but he could tell how she had her eyes fixed on him. She twisted her face, she looked very cold, reproachful... with disappointment. She shook her head from side to side and turned her face to look out the window.

Oliver began to feel sorry for his attitude. At no time had crossed his mind the idea that Felicity had been really worried or concerned about those animals. He had thought that it was a game between them. But seeing her face and anger, he realised that it was, indeed, something important. Something stirred inside him made him feel very bad, an idiot, a jerk… He had been more concerned to win "the fight" than to see what Felicity needed.

They were already halfway between the beach and the town when he turned the car and backed into the parking lot where they had left the box with the cats. He got off without saying anything Felicity and headed toward them.

When he returned she was waiting leaning against the rear of the vehicle. When she saw him come with the box in his arms, Felicity grinned and ran to him. Once she catch him, she jump to his neck and stretched filling his cheek with kisses.

"So enthusiastic! You are about to crush the animals. "

"Sorry... I got carried away." She reached into the box, pulled one of them out. "Thanks for coming back for them."

Oliver shrugged "If I had known it was so important to you to take the cats, I would never have left them lying here."

She smiled and brought the cat back with the others as Oliver opened the back door to get them inside. Felicity also went to her seat. She was almost more excited by Oliver's gesture, that she was with the idea of get the cats to the clinic. It wouldn't been much trouble to come back for them later.. But the fact that the idea had come from him… it touched her.

"Will you take me to the clinic?"

Oliver nodded. "Sure... It's still in the same place?"

Felicity nodded and looked her watch. "I'll better call Ray, it's late and is about to close."

"Ray? Who is Ray?"

"It's my partner."

Her partner? Where she had known him? He didn't remember any "Ray" in the village... And he didn't trust strangers.

"Where is he from?"

"He lived in the city but moved here when I took over the clinic. We study together."

"And is he trustworthy?"

"What? Of course! He is my best friend."

She took the phone from her bag and dialled Ray. Oliver paid attention to the conversation that Felicity and that guy, kept trying to prove he could really trust him... He frowned and rubbed his forehead What was wrong with him? He didn't have to distrust everyone surrounding Felicity... If she had associated with him, had hired him or something, it would be because she was sure, she wouldn't hire a complete stranger. He knew he was beginning to worry too much about insignificant things... and the worst thing was that, most of time, those things had to do with her.

"How it is that you needed a partner?"

"Too much work for myself."

"Too much work? In the village? What is it? Four dogs and five cats total?"

Felicity narrowed her eyes. "That's funny! if you knew that veterinarians not only take care of pets, are not also horses, pigs, cows..."

Oliver pulled a disgusted expression. "Cows and pigs?" He fanned his hand in front of his nose. "That explains the funny smell..."

Felicity opened her mouth, offended, and struck a blow to his arm. "Don't be rude!" He laughed. "I don't smell."

"Well... being surrounded all day by those kinds of animals..."

Felicity ignored him and reached out, pointing at a parking space. "You can leave the car here. It will be just a moment."

Oliver nodded and parked where she had indicated. He got out and helped her pull the cats out.

"Once I make sure they are all right I will give one to you."

Oliver opened his eyes. "A cat?! To me?" He shook his head placing his hands between the cats and himself as a wall. "I don't think we will get along very well... but thanks anyway."

"You'll see! They are very cuddly."

"Do not try to convince me, and get them inside... I'll wait here."

"Don't you wanna come? I'll show you round."

"No, I have the car double-parked, I'll wait for you here in case the crane comes"

Felicity nodded and turned around. "I won't be long!"

Oliver put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the car. He with a cat? He smiled, that idea seemed far-fetched, the only animal he liked was Honey... and not because he was a dog. No, he only liked him because it was his dog. Since he had moved to the city he hadn't had a single pet, and if he had to choose an animal, he would pick a hamster or a bird... never a cat.

He lift his head and saw someone whom he didn't expect to see there. All his thoughts about what pet suited him seemed ridiculous now that he finally was seeing her... He had seen her the day before, a few seconds and accompanied... so couldn't see much. She looked the same as always, almost nothing had changed. She looked at him and Oliver felt like if he went backward in time, returning to seven years ago and nothing had changed.

Laurel was pretty nervous and shaken. "Are you with my sister?!"

Oliver frowned. They haven't talked for years and that was all she had to say? "Hello How are you?" would have been more appropriate.

Laurel was looking everywhere but at him. "I haven't heard anything from her since this morning... we argued, she left without saying anything..." she lift a hand to her forehead. "It's very late and she hasn't called me all day. Have you seen her?... An hour ago I called Ray and he told me that she hadn't been here... Maybe she's still angry and gone… I don't know, she has never done anything like that, disappear..."

Oliver began to feel dizzy. Did Laurel always speak that much? Or he had a bad memory and had forgotten that, or in recent years her sister had infected her verbal incontinence.

Oliver cut her off. "Calm down!" Laurel paused and looked at him. "Felicity's fine, she has been with me since this morning. She's now in the clinic."

Laurel put a hand to her chest and sighed, "I was worried... thank you very much."

"You haven't even greeted me…"

Laurel looked nervous. With all the concern that she had because of Felicity, she hadn't stopped to think that she was back in front of Oliver... or if she still felt something when she saw him.

"Hello…"

Felicity finished putting the cats in their new homes, giving them food and water, and turned to Ray, who sat on the desk without removing his eyes off her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You seem very well."

Felicity smiled. "Are you hitting on me?"

"I'm not ... but it seems to me that another person is."

"Why is that?"

"Because you're smiling and radiant."

"Can't I smile for another reason than that?"

"Of course... but clearly this is why."

Felicity shook her head, smiling. "You're a fool ..." She put her jacket on and picked up her things. "Sure you do not want me to stay to help you close?"

"No. There's nothing left to do anymore."

Felicity nodded and left. Any other day she would have love to stay with Ray and close, it's what she always did... live almost exclusively for their animals. That was how she liked to spend her time. But that day... (week) being locked in the lab was the last thing she wanted. Spend time with Oliver, what at first felt as an obligation, was now the most normal thing in the world.

She came to the door and froze when she saw the picture he and her sister were making. Felicity hadn't expected that, neither from Oliver and much less from Laurel. They were kissing! They seemed immersed in a world really far from this... a world just with the two of them. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. She didn't want to see this, she didn't want to be there... She wanted to disappear.

She realized that her hands ached from her nails digging into them, but also realized that it hurt less than witnessing that kiss. She should feel rage to see her sister throw it all away, disappointed to see that Laurel had fallen again ... but now all she felt was pain.

Too much pain.


	5. Part V

_Well, here it is. The last part has arrived! I know I'm usually not much a talker but I'm going to take a minute to thank all of you who has been stuck with me and my story, supporting and cheering me and leaving me comments and opinions. Thank you all! But mostly, thanks to my beta youfixmybrokenwings for her amazing work, because without her, you probably wouldn't understand half of this story. I don't know If ever going to risk again to write an english story, but If I do, I hope all of you keep me company. You can follow me at if you want to know something in case I decide to write again. Thank you all again. See you!_

Felicity closed her eyes and went back into the clinic. She was not going to be the one who interrupted them... on top of that, she wasn't willing to let them see how that kiss had affected her.

"Ray... Can you do me a favour?" She tried her voice sound as always.

Ray looked up from some papers he was reading. "Whatever you want."

"Can you go out and tell my sister and the other guy who is with her not to wait for me?"

Ray frowned. "Aren't you leaving?"

"I've changed my mind ... I'll stay to close the clinic with you."

Ray seemed find her change of heart strange, but finally went out to take the message to her sister without asking. He suspected that that talk with Felicity could go on for a long time...

He separated from Laurel a bit confused. That... that was not what was supposed to happen. Was that all? So many years waiting for that moment and... it was just that? He looked into her eyes... Oliver wasn't sure if he saw relief, nervousness, fear ... but he was totally sure that Laurel could see only disappointment in his.

He had come to town looking for something, and only when he finally kissed her, was when he realized that that "something" had long been dead.

He thought of Felicity and their kiss. That kiss was certainly much more special... more intense.

It's funny how something he had never thought of, something which came up suddenly, had penetrated deeper into him than a kiss that had been planned since his return... He almost dared to say that he had been waiting for it since he left.

Oliver ran a hand over his face. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry Laurel, I shouldn't have..."

"No! Don't say you sorry! This is something that had to happen... sooner or later had to happen."

Oliver looked at her trying to guess what was going through her mind at that moment, what she meant with those words... "had to happen?" He didn't know what that meant.

"Wait... Laurel ... I think I've confused you…" He scratched his head. "Or maybe I'm the one confused now..."

He closed his eyes and sighed, he had never been good with sincerity stuff.

He was silent for a few minutes and finally decided to speak. "What have you felt?"

"At first, when I saw you approaching... I was scared, very scared…" She wrinkled her nose. "But at the same time… I was looking forward to it, it was strange" Oliver raised his eyebrows, indicating her to continue. "But then... nothing… Nothing at all. Sorry, Oliver, but there's nothing between us anymore... we'd better accept it."

Oliver smiled... Being rejected was never nice... But he was happy with that answer. There was nothing anymore. It was the best he could have heard, he was convinced that he was now happier and calm than if both had felt in the sky with that kiss.

"We're a couple of idiots, you know?"

"Excuse me?"

Oliver smiled again. "Well, at least I've been an idiot... I've been living in an illusion, and I had to come back, find you and kiss you to realize that our path together ended too many years ago."

Laurel nodded. "These things happen. As I told you before, this moment was necessary so we could finally turn the page once and for all and continue with our lives."

"Sorry… Am I interrupting?"

Oliver turned and looked at the guy. Why every time he met someone knew in town, he automatically dislike him? This guy looked like a completely nerd, but Oliver knew better that trust in a first impression. No, no. He didn't like this guy. Not a bit.

"Who are you?"

Laurel grabbed his arm. "It's Ray, Felicity's partner... and a great friend too."

"We have some work in the clinic and Felicity asked me to come to say that you shouldn't wait for her."

Oliver frowned at him. "She said it wouldn't take long, she told me to wait for her."

Ray shrugged. "She changed her mind."

Oliver leaned against the car. "Well… I'll wait for her anyway, I'm not gonna let her go home alone."

"Don't worry, I'll go with her."

Didn't that guy speak English or what? He had decided to stay and wait for Felicity, and that idiot "friend" wasn't gonna change his mind.

"And who is going to come with me? You're about to punch each other just to escort Felicity but nobody cares about me, huh." Laurel joked.

"You know I would accompany you happily, but I still have to close..."

Laurel looked at Oliver. "What about you? Do you have to close too?"

Oliver sighed and opened the car door for her. Being a Big Head was only making him look ridiculous.

She was leaning on her desk with her head resting on her arms. She shouldn't feel that way. She COULDN'T feel that way. She had never allowed anyone to crash her walls down, not allowed anyone get to the bottom of her feelings... She shouldn't let that stupid blondie succeed now. She raised her head and sniffled, she was willing to have a crush on anyone... except him. That would be like betraying her sister... even more, betraying herself. Hadn't she hated him all her life? Things couldn't change that much in just one week.

"Felicity! What's wrong? You're crying…" Ray asked when he got back to the office.

Felicity stood up quickly and turned, mopping her face. "No."

"Don't try to fool me, I've known you for too long so you can't do it... Also, I know that you don't cry easily."

Felicity turned and looked at him. No tears... it was controlled and she wasn't going to cry anymore. "Where do you see the tears?"

Ray raised an eyebrow. "Really? You may not be crying right now, but you've been doing it just a moment ago." He stared at her for a few seconds. "Is this about the guy who was with Laurel? "

"I do not know!" She collected her things on the table. "I don't want to talk about it, Ray ... Neither him or anything related to him."

"It is not good that you keep it all in, sometimes it is good to talk about it."

Felicity approached to the door. "Don't insist, please..." She ran her hand across her forehead. "I'm going home... I'm really tired."

"Wait, I'll go with you. I don't want you to be walking alone so late."

"It is a small town, Ray... everybody knows me, nobody is going to kidnap me."

Felicity left the clinic and breathed deeply once she got to the street. She was overwhelmed, dejected... all she wanted was to get home, lock herself in her room and get into bed. Forget Oliver, Laurel and even herself, if that was possible.

"Thanks for bringing me home."

Oliver smiled. "You're welcome."

"Can I ask you something?" He nodded and she continued speaking. "I would like you to come to my wedding... I mean, if that doesn't make you feel uncomfortable...It would mean a lot to me."

Oliver laughed. "I told Felicity I would like to be your photographer... but she refused."

"Really? Do the photography, video and all that stuff? "

"Sure... that's a photographer's job."

Laurel smiled, thrilled with the idea. "That would be perfect! Our photographer dumped us the last minute!"

"I would be happy... but Felicity might not agree with the idea... Knowing her, she is likely to make a fuss. Don't you think?"

"Bah! She didn't want you there because she didn't know what could happen... As soon as you tell her there is nothing going on between us anymore, she won't be against this... Moreover, I am convinced that she will be glad to not have to go chasing you around all the time.. and I guess you're wishing the same."

Oliver lowered his head. Should he be wishing that? Maybe... after all, he had spent all week complaining about having Felicity following him as a shadow. He hadn't thought about the fact that as soon as the wedding ended, Felicity wouldn't be chasing him anymore. That idea wasn't attractive at all... Let her get rid of him a day sooner? No way... in one day things might change a lot and he wasn't going to miss that opportunity.

"Would you do me a favour?"

"Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Don't tell Felicity what happened... not the kiss, nor that we have already clarified everything... okay?"

Laurel nodded slowly. "Okay... but I don't understand... why would you want to hide it?"

Oliver showed a small smile. "I don't know... I guess I've gotten used to having her yakking all day next to me... And if we tell her that there is nothing to worry about anymore, she won't come tomorrow for me..."

Laurel laughed. "Now I understand! Of course! How could you feel anything for me, if you are already whipped with..."

"No one!"

"Oh my God! You are really smitten!"

Oliver laughed. "You're a clown..."

"Why don't we tell the truth and you go for her, for a change?"

Oliver raised both eyebrows. You know me... the saying "If Mohammed will not go to the mountain, the mountain will go to Mohammed" is not for me... You just… don't tell her, okay? Please… It costs you nothing to help me..."

Laurel nodded smiling. "Okay, whatever you want." She left the car and spoke to him from outside before entering the house. "After all, we still going to end up being family!"

He started the car as he thought of Laurel's words. Was that so serious? Did he just admit to her something that he hadn't even admit to himself? No... his feelings wasn't that big… probably the next morning everything would be back where it belongs.. That night the emotions were skin deep and he was thinking nonsense.

He checked his watch and dropped his head back. It was almost lunchtime and he hadn't heard from Felicity all day. He had been waiting at home until nearly 11, usually she came for him earlier than that, so when he saw that she wouldn't appear, he went looking for her. But there was no sign of Felicity... She wasn't anywhere. All he knew was that she had awakened early and had left early, at least that was what Laurel had told him when he went to their home looking for her.

"Do you mind if I sit down to eat with you?"

"Are you stupid, Roy?" He pointed to a chair. "Of course I don't mind! We barely have been able to speak since I came back."

"Buff, I've been working butt... but I promise you, before you leave I'll call you again and we could talk calmly. By the way, when do you go? "

"I guess as soon as Laurel's wedding ends."

Roy looked at him as if he was crazy. "Are you planning on going to the wedding?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I?"

Roy rolled his eyes. "Because you wanted to steal the bride, for example?!"

"Everything is cleared up with Laurel." He shrugged. "Nothing happened."

Roy frowned at him. "How did "nothing happen"? So why did you come back?"

"Now I know that there's nothing... but before I came back, I didn't. If I hadn't come back, I would still think things should happen between us..."

"OK. OK! You're going to get me dizzy with so many "feelings" and "thinking" and "knowing"... Let's see, How have you realised that there is nothing between you anymore?"

"Because I kissed her."

Roy opened his eyes even more. "You kissed her?! You kissed my cousin? When?! How?! Where?!"

Oliver laughed. "Stop with the questions! I kissed her, and that's it. I'm not gonna tell you the details."

"Okay, okay, sorry... but you know... I have to worry, it's in my DNA...and she's about to get married… with a really good guy, I have to point out... Well, then you're leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes, probably. I don't have anything to do here."

"And why do you say it like that? What's wrong? Aren't you happy?

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know... You just detach yourself from something that had you tied for like... a thousand years. And now you can return to your home, with your people… right? Because after seven years out of this place I guess your people are the ones there... you can go back to your world without leaving anyone behind. However it seems that you're not happy with the idea."

He ran a hand across his forehead and closed his eyes. His people were out of town? He wasn't leaving anyone behind? Oliver sighed. That life that Roy was talking, didn't look much like his... Of course, he wasn't planning to stay there for life, he needed the bustle of the city, the hustle... in that small town he could die of boredom... but if he compared what he left here with what he had there, Oliver wasn't quite sure which way the balance would incline.

"Can you miss someone whom you don't care for?"

"If you don't care about a person, how are you going to miss them? That's nonsense," a new voice said.

Roy rolled his eyes. "Women... always getting into other people's conversations." He looked up to see the person who had intervened. "Who asked your opinion?"

"Wow! What a way to treat your girlfriend!" She smiled. "When it comes to conversations between you and your friends I can always give my opinion."

Oliver smiled. "Well, apparently, Roy, Thea continues to control and boss you around just like when we were fifteen."

"Nobody bosses me! Not now, not ever!"

"Honey, how naive you are... Women always do what we want with you men."

Roy looked at her defiantly. "Not with me."

"Oh, no? Tell me then, how you were doing my maths homework every day for over a year. Explain me, why were you doing that when by that time we were not even together..."

"Can we stop talking about the past?"

Thea looked at Oliver, smiling. "Now that he doesn't have a response, he changes the subject."

Roy decided to ignore her. "So tell us, Who is that person whom'll you miss?

Thea rolled her eyes. "You can't be more blind, my love. I think everyone has realised who that person is... and let me clarify to you: He's not going to miss her, he is already doing it."

"I don't understand. Do you miss anyone?"

"No, is not that... I had just gotten used to her company," Oliver glanced at the clock. "I don't know what would have happened to her today, she didn't come to pick me up..."

"But who?!"

"Felicity, honey! Felicity!"

Roy looked at Oliver surprised. "Have you fallen in love with Felicity? MY Felicity? MY COUSIN Felicity? What the hell happened to you with my cousins?! Do you know there are more women on the earth apart from those who share my DNA?"

"No! I haven't fallen in love with anyone!"

"Liar…"

Oliver was beginning to feel upset. "Why do you exaggerate things so much? I'm just saying that I find strange not to have Felicity with me all day, and a second later you're talking about love."

Thea frowned at him. "I don't know why you insist on denying it, I..." Roy's cell phone started to ring, interrupting them.

"Sorry," he looked at the screen, "it's a message from work."

Oliver worried. "Is something wrong?"

Roy shook his head. "Nothing important... I think." He got up and put on his jacket. "But I have to go." Before leaving he turned and looked at Oliver. "Don't you dare to leave without coming to tell me about this!"

When they were alone, Thea attacked again. "So?"

"So? What?"

"Aren't you planning to do anything?"

"Stop bugging me, Thea. Can we talk about something else?"

"Okay, but only one thing before that." Oliver looked at her waiting for her to finish. "You came back to town looking for someone you thought was important to you... because you thought you loved her. Are you going to leave empty handed just because the identity of that person has changed? It doesn't matter if it is Laurel, Felicity, Luna or Merry... If you really want her, fight to get her."

Oliver got up. "The point is that I don't know what I feel."

"Well, my advice? You have to find out the answer to that soon... or you may not be able to get her in the end."

She dropped onto the bed, if it could be called a bed, and sighed, covering her eyes with her arm. How could she be so unlucky? If the previous day was terrible this was not far behind... What had started as a small and innocent protest to prevent a small park being built up into a commercial area had ended in a kind of pitched battle. And the worst is that they all blame her! Felicity didn't know how, but she had ended up locked up at the police station. She rose, resigned, and went to the bars. She was in a really bad mood, but she knew that if she wanted to get something useful, being friendly was a necessity.

"John! Can you come here?"

Digg came with a very unfriendly face, and looked at her sternly a couple of steps from the cell.

"Do not try to win me over! It doesn't matter how well I know you, I'll treat you like any other criminal."

Felicity's eyes widened. He was calling her "criminal"? That was it. The desire to be kind, at first already slim, was now replaced by a terrible desire to get an arm through the bars and break his face. That jerk!

"Criminal! Tell me! What I have done to you for you to lock me here?!"

Digg raised an eyebrow. "You better ask me what you haven't done... Do you want me to start listing your great deeds today?"

"If all your cops are so yielding that they can't bring order, it's not my problem." She kicked at the bars. "Let me go!"

"I'm going to leave you there until I see you more calm."

"You can't just lock me here!"

"Can't I? I'm the captain here."

Felicity, deciding she was not going to get anything, went on to her next target.

"Roy! Tell him he is abusing his authority, tell him to get me out of here."

But Roy wasn't feeling cooperative. "After what you've done, I'll throw away the key of that cell in the nearest well... Do you know how bad I'm going to look in the wedding photos with this face?!"

Felicity was outraged. "You two are going to get yourself in a lot of trouble, you idiots! I know my rights! Give me a phone! I want to make my call, someone will have to come get me."

Digg shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I've already made the call for you."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "What did Laurel say when you told her that I was here?"

Digg turned and started toward his office. "I never said I called Laurel."

Felicity saw him go into the office and shut the door, so she sat back on the bed. Digg hadn't called Laurel? Well, then, maybe, he called Sara... That was preferable because Laurel would be attacked by wedding nerves, if it finally was a wedding...because after what she saw between her and Oliver the night before, Felicity was expecting anything… and because she wasn't feeling herself this morning, she had woken up early and had gone to the protest saying only a simple "Goodbye, I'll be back later" to Laurel, instead of having a very needed conversation.

She leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to be patient and wait for Sara.

Knowing her, it would take her at least a couple of hours to get there, maybe more if she got distracted talking to all the people who crossed her in her way to the station. Sara had been out for a long time and probably everyone would want to catch up with her... But Felicity was wrong, not more than ten minutes after Digg left her alone, she heard at the entrance the voice belonging to the person who had come to pick her up.

She sat, startled, when she recognized his voice and, for the umpteenth time that day, a terrible desire to crush Digg's head against the wall filled her. Or that giant idiot called Oliver, or what she felt toward him was very VERY serious and she was starting to have hallucinations... If she had to be honest, Felicity didn't know which of the two options was worse.

She got up and walked to the bars to watch them. Okay, she wasn't hallucinating, Oliver was with Digg and certainly he hadn't come for some car fine... She looked down to her clothes and shoes... all muddy, she was all muddy, including her hair. Great, besides the embarrassment of being "prey", she looked like a vagrant.

"Have you already calmed down or do I have to leave you here even longer?" John spoke from the hallway.

Felicity looked at him annoyed. "Why did you call him?! You should have called my sisters!"

"Because Laurel would have had convulsions and Sara would have flayed you for doing that to her. Oh, well… on a second thought, maybe we should have called them, Digg..." Roy said vengefully, rubbing his split lip.

Digg rolled his eyes. "I didn't want to bother them with nonsense like this..." He looked seriously. "In addition, I remind you that you are not able to request anything after your behaviour."

"My behaviour! I repeat that I haven't done anything!"

"You hit a cop! Which it happens to be your cousin, and that's not counting what you did to me..."

"That's a lie! He stumbled and fell."

"And then you fought with him in the mud."

Oliver laughed, causing all, Roy, Felicity and Digg, looked at him menacingly. Of course this was anything but funny for any of them.

Felicity attacked. "Have you come here to laugh? Because if that's what you are looking for, you can leave right now, Queenie."

"The one who decides who goes or who stays, is me," Digg said.

Felicity mocked him. "The one who decides who goes or who stays, is me." She muttered, "What an idiot..."

"You keep it that way and you'll see how this ends, Felicity!"

"Oh! I'm so scared..."

Digg pointed at his eye. "Look! Did you see what you did to my eye? Hitting the authority is a felony! So drop all this act... I can still take legal actions for contempt."

"You should have done it already." Roy said.

Felicity pulled her fist. "You see this? I can still match your faces."

Digg huffed heavily trying to compose himself. He didn't want to overdo things, but if he kept talking to Felicity, she would end up seriously arrested. He raised his hands and turned to Oliver.

"All yours... my patience has reached its limit."

Oliver waited for Digg to leave before talking. "So... you're coming with me?"

"Don't even dream about it!"

"Is something wrong? Yesterday everything was alright... and now..."

"Yesterday was yesterday and today is today! And I don't want to be with you! So get out and leave me alone."

"I'm not leaving. Who's gonna get you out of here if you cast me out?"

"That's not your problem."

Oliver sighed, he didn't understand Felicity's behaviour... Things couldn't change that much in one night... Not without a reason... And he knew that nothing happened that could have changed her attitude that way.

"Are you going to be this morose all day?"

"That's not your business. I won't be with you, so if I am or I am not morose it doesn't matter to you."

Oliver realized that talk to her was like talking to a wall. "Okay, fine, you want to stay here? Perfect, I won't move a finger to help you out." He turned around ready to leave. "I'll tell your cousin to bring you some blankets for you to sleep more comfortably."

Felicity bit hard her fist to stop a scream. She was feeling cramped up like never before. Being locked up, discussing with Oliver... everything was too much and she wouldn't take much more. If she wasn't so stubborn and proud... She tried to calm down, she need to seem normal, pretend that that kiss she had witnessed between Oliver and Laurelnhadn't meant anything to her... It was like… like when she saw Roy and Thea together. She felt nothing... so… with Laurel and Oliver it had to be the same.

Felicity hit her head against the bars and looked through them. She looked at Roy. He was tall, like Oliver. He was handsome, like Oliver. He had nice eyes, like Oliver. It was nice and polite... like Oliver. Why couldn't she like him? Okay, because she was his cousin, but what about Digg? She put her hands to her face and shook her head. Was she sick? First, she falls in love with the eternal love of her sister, and now she was trying to feel things for a lifelong friend's boyfriend. What the hell was wrong with her?! Being locked between those four walls for so long was starting to affect her head... She had to get out by any means, but if that involved going with Oliver... she would end up going crazy.

Felicity walked two steps ahead of him and had not spoken since they left the police station. It was late afternoon, almost evening, it was cold and it looked like it was about to start raining at any moment. What was he doing following Felicity when she didn't even deign to look at him? He should forget it and go home... but he couldn't. He couldn't leave her during any of the days he had spent in the village when her mere presence grated on him, so he couldn't leave her now when what he wanted was to be with her.

"Are you going to be quiet all the way? We've been walking almost half an hour like this..."

Felicity didn't stop to look at him. "I haven't asked you to come with me. If you get bored you can go."

"I do not want to leave."

Felicity shrugged. "Well, do what you want... but don't ask me to talk when I don't want to."

"Things have to be really bad to make you stay quiet for so long," he joked. "Don't you feel you're going to explode any minute?"

Felicity turned slightly and looked him. "I'm not up for jokes."

Oliver sat on a bench in the promenade. "Come, sit. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Because nothing's wrong... I have a bad day, that's all."

"Don't you dare to tell me this is for the incident with the police because I don't believe you... This is not the first time that you end up at the police station."

"But this time is different! It was unfair!"

Oliver laughed. "You hit Roy and Digg!"

"Because they started it!"

Felicity crossed her arms with a pouty face and stared, watching Oliver have fun.

"Do you remember the first time they locked you up? Like today, it was me who had to get you out so your parents didn't find out."

Felicity showed a small smile. "Laurel sent you, didn't she?"

"She freaked out! And let me tell you that that time it really wasn't your fault... it was that boyfriend you had. What was his name? "

"Cooper."

Oliver snapped his fingers. "Cooper! What an idiot... What did he do?"

"Pfft... I can't remember. I only know that I always followed him around. Well, I have to admit that sometimes I was the mastermind of those terrible ideas..."

"I don't know which of the two would come up with the ideas... but what I know for sure is that he was a jerk." He shut up for a moment. "Now that I think about it, the other boyfriends you had were also a peculiar variety of characters... Where did you find them?"

Felicity smiled. "No idea... I think they were the ones who found me..." She looked. "You know? Cooper was my first."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Your first? In what sense?"

Felicity looked at him opening her eyes and began to blush when she understood the implications of that question.

"Don't be rude!"

Oliver laughed hard. "You made it so easy... I had to ask! And be thankful that I did it delicately..."

"What it is is that you are sick!" She rose from the bench. "You always have to bring everything to that topic or what?"

"It's just that you're so bashful ... you have to take these things more normally."

"I don't see what's "normal" in talk about my experiences... of my life... Of those things!"

Oliver cried with laughter. "Talk about sex! Can't you even say it?"

Felicity watched him sitting on the bench and shrugging of laughter that had invaded him. It was THAT funny to him? A few days ago she had been angry with him for a similar situation, but right now she was feeling the urge to laugh with him.

"Do not be such a clown."

Oliver calmed down. "Okay. But the answer is yes or no?"

"To what?"

Oliver rolled his eyes. "To Cooper."

Felicity laughed. "Stop it!"

"Is that a yes?" He made a face. "What a bad taste Felicity! With him? Surely you had better wooers."

"I haven't confirmed or denied it!"

"Come on! Tell me about it!" Felicity shook her head laughing. "It's not fair! You do know who was my first girl in that sense."

"Not because I wanted..."

"You can't leave me now with this doubt... if I don't sleep tonight it will be your fault, you know?"

Felicity could not stop laughing. "Could you stop being an idiot? This is ridiculous…"

Oliver nodded briefly. "A little bit..." He looked at her. "But I'm having a really good time."

Felicity smiled. "Me too." She extended a hand to help him up. "Can we take another stroll? I don't want to go home so soon."

Oliver nodded and took her hand to stand up. He stayed close to her, standing and still clutching the hand of Felicity. That was his Felicity, the one who blushed over trifles, who laughed and talked nonstop. He couldn't understand how he could have missed her so much all morning and how in just five days she had become so essential in his life.

"Hi," he whispered.

Felicity frowned confused. "Hi?" She laughed quietly. "What's wrong?"

"Can't I say hello to you?"

"Yes... but not after nearly an hour. I had already felt greeted although you hadn't said "Hello" before."

"Well... It wasn't you before."

"Laughter has affected your mind?"

Oliver shook his head. "The Felicity I know is this... the one before it wasn't you."

"You barely know me."

Oliver shrugged "I don't care… the little I've seen it's enough to me."

He raised his free hand and stroked her cheek. Now he knew clearly what happened to him with her, the same way he knew that he wasn't going to let her go. It was ridiculous, he knew that he loved her and they had really known each other just for one week... However, every moment he spent with her, he was more convinced of his feelings.

Felicity closed her eyes and sighed nervously, feeling the caress on her face. She didn't understand Oliver's behaviour. After what she saw last night, she had finally convinced herself that he felt nothing for her, yet now he was acting like that... "The little he had seen was enough?" She wasn't sure what that meant... Was it good? She preferred not to think... It was much more interesting to get carried away by what she felt.

She put her arm around Oliver's waist and landed on his back, stuck herself to him and sighed again, opening her eyes. Felicity found his eyes looking at her carefully, like if he want to memorise every detail of her face. In any other situation that had bothered her, at this time instead, it seemed normal and natural. It felt good, comfortable... She wouldn't mind if he looked at her that way forever. Moreover, she wished he would like to look at her every day.

"I've missed you... I needed your company."

Felicity went blank. She always had an answer for everything and at that time it seemed that the words had vanished. She tried to say something nice, something according to what he had said... but definitely, it was impossible.

"Will you let me do something? I need to check something. "

"What?"

"Will you let me kiss you?"

Felicity stood motionless and silent. Deep down, from the moment he got up and said that "Hello", she knew he would end up kissing her. What she hadn't imagined was that he was to ask permission before. She wanted to laugh. Was she stupid? She wanted to kiss him and all she would get if she opened her mouth was laugh. She could answer "yes", "no", I don't know"... but laugh? That was typical of a crazy person... Oliver waited no longer for an answer and got closer, kissing her.

That was definitely what it must feel like with a kiss.

The night before with Laurel was all completely different... it was like if nothing had happened. However, with Felicity it was all perfect. Now he understood everything. He had spent seven years thinking he was in love with someone, and that was the reason why no other girl succeeded on getting deeper into him... He was wrong. Oliver stopped loving Laurel a long time ago... probably when he left town he wasn't already in love with her. If you care about someone, you are unable to leave and leave them behind... If he hadn't found anyone else during those years it was simply because the right person hadn't shown up.

Until now.

He had loved Laurel, had been in love with her all her adolescence, but Oliver was completely sure that he loved Felicity even more. And this time, that love isn't going to end.

When Oliver had kissed her two days ago, she hadn't expected it. Neither the kiss nor what she felt. And that's the reason why she hadn't given it more importance, she decided to take things as they were, a simple kiss and nothing else. Now it was different, now she knew that this meant too much for her and probably not so much to him... And that frightened her. She wasn't willing to risk suffering for anyone, and she was convinced that if she went ahead with this, everything was going to end very badly. It was impossible to replace what her sister was once to Oliver and she wouldn't settle for less than what she was willing to give... And, in that instant, she would give everything.

She put her hands on Oliver's chest and pushed gently to separate from him. She realized they were wet. When it had started to rain? Neither of them had noticed it... Oliver managed to make her escape from the world... that, of course, was anything but something good.

He opened his eyes and looked at her.

Felicity avoided meeting his gaze. "I... I have to go."

"What? Why do you have to go? "

She took a couple of steps away. "No, this," she pointed between them, "I don't want..."

He tried to think of something to hold her, to clarify things and confess everything he felt… but he didn't have time. She turned and ran away from him.

She was barely able to sleep all night. She hadn't even looked in the mirror that morning, but she was sure that she looked like a ghost… It was great, the wedding day and she seemed to have a hangover. Luckily, Laurel had a shipment of makeup... Felicity will pray to make a miracle with them and look like an ordinary person. She left her room and walked across the small hallway that separated from Laurel's room.

"Laurel?"

"Felicity! I was about to go to get you! I'm soooo nervous ... I have the feeling that we forget something important, or that something will go wrong. What if I fall down the aisle? I'll die of shame! You know I'm very clumsy ... and the dress train is very long, I'm going to stumble and fall flat on my face in front of all the guests... I should have bought the other dress I tried! It was simpler...

She kept walking from one side to another and exaggeratedly moving her hands as she spoke. Felicity sat at the end of the bed and watched her. She hadn't said anything about Oliver, or about them together, or what was going on with her... but seeing her so nervous and yet so excited about her wedding, Felicity knew that that story with Oliver was completely over to Laurel. That calmed her a bit, but she didn't want to delude because that wasn't a confirmation that she no longer meant anything to him... At least she could stop feeling guilty for having these feelings.

"Are you okay?" Laurel asked, seeing her so quiet.

Felicity nodded. "Yes ... Can we talk?"

"If we're quick. yes. I don't want to leave Tommy waiting."

"Are you sure you want to take this step? A wedding is something important ... I know I've talked to you many times about this issue, I have repeated ad nauseam what a good person Tommy is and how much he loves you... But basically the only one who can make this decision is you, and if you don't want to do it, it doesn't make sense..."

Laurel broke her off. "I'm absolutely certain, more than ever..."

"What about Oliver?"

Laurel smiled. "I don't know... You tell me."

Felicity rose from the bed. "Me? How should I know what's happening between you two?"

"Not between us. I'm asking about you two." Felicity turned and began to tinker with the bottles on the dressing table. "Are you interested in him?"

Felicity kept her back to her. "If I'm interested in Oliver? Please Laurel, don't say stupid things."

"He loves you."

Felicity turned and looked at her, deadly serious. "That's a lie. He loves you and you know it."

Laurel rose from the bed and sat in front of the mirror. "Me? Felicity you're completely wrong..." She picked up a hairbrush. "Could you brush my hair?"

Felicity took the brush and began to pass it through her sister's beautiful hair. "I'm not wrong."

"He loves you."

"Did he tell you that?"

"Well, not with those words exactly..."

"Well, he told me more than once that he loves you... and literally."

"Five days can change a lot of things."

"Yes, of course... in five days things change so much that he will forget you to notice me."

Laurel looked at her through the reflection in the mirror and smiled. "That means that you do love him."

"Don't change the conversation!"

"Why don't you tell him later?"

"Don't be silly. I don't want to make the biggest mistake of my life... I know what he feels about me and what he feels for you. I don't intend to change it… Also, later when? Is he coming or what?"

"Yeah, He's the photographer."

"What?! You are crazy!"

"Why? I needed a photographer, he is one... Where is the problem?"

"The problem is that in the part where the priest asks if anyone is opposed to that marriage, instead of doing his work Oliver will be raising his hand."

"Don't be silly! I repeat: he loves you."

Felicity dropped the brush and covered her face with her hands. "Can we talk about something else? It's impossible to reach an agreement in this."

Laurel agreed. "Okay, let's change the subject... but he loves you." She stuck her tongue out as a joke.

"Stop it Laurel!"

A noise from the door interrupted them. Felicity looked through the mirror reflection and wanted to disappear at that moment. Couldn't he leave town and leave her alone? She didn't want to see him, or want to listen him... She wanted to forget all about him, but no, Oliver seemed determined to not allow her.

"Can I come in?"

"You're already inside. Why you ask?"

"Felicity, please!" Laurel stood up and approached him. "Of course you can come..."

Felicity walked to the window and start looking out onto the street. She wasn't going to talk... She didn't know why Oliver was there, but if he wanted to talk to her he would find a wall of silence.

"Why have you come?" Laurel asked.

"Tomorrow... I'm leaving tomorrow..."

She made a great effort not to turn around and look at him... He was leaving? Well, what did she expect? She always knew that Oliver would leave sooner than later... it was logical. What she wasn't expected was how much affected her.

"... And I don't want to make the same mistake that I made seven years ago. I'm leaving, but I want to do it with the person I love."

Felicity closed her eyes. That was the last she could bear. Was he declaring his love to her sister in front of her? She almost preferred that he had made a cataclysmic entrance in the middle of the ceremony and dragged the bride... At least that way she could conceal better her disappointment.

But no. She wouldn't stay there to hear that. As they say: three's a crowd, and if someone remained in that room, it was her.

"I better go... this is your..." She turned and was speechless when she saw they were alone. "Where is Laurel?"

Oliver shrugged "She left. There was no point on her being here."

"How do...?" She looked at him totally confused. "What did you come?"

"I just told you." Seeing that Felicity was silent. "I've come for you."

Felicity was watching him, completely serious. Was she hearing properly? She had to be misunderstanding, that was impossible.

"And Laurel?"

"I've already told you! She left because..."

Felicity cut him off. "I don't mean that. What about Laurel?"

"Nothing, nothing happened with Laurel."

Felicity opened her eyes, feeling like she was hallucinating. How could he be so... shameless? She'd seen them together the other day... And he dare to deny it!

"I saw you! I don't know what you pretend with this... Make fun of me or something?"

Oliver approached her and took her hand. "No! That's the last thing I ever wanted!"

Felicity took her hand back and looked at him really disappointed. "Please... you're laughing at the two of us. One night you kiss one and the next you kiss the other. What is it? A tasting to see who's best? Some sort of weird contest?"

"You are unfair."

"Unfair! You're playing with both of us but I'm unfair!"

"I'm not playing with anyone, Felicity."

"Why did you kiss me then?"

"Because I love you!"

Felicity turned around and took a deep breath. She didn't know whether to believe him and run to him or kick him in the ass for being such a fool.

Oliver put a hand on her shoulder. "Could you get to love me?"

She kept showing him her back, Felicity knew that if she turned around, only with his gaze he could make anything he wanted with her... and she didn't want, she didn't want to budge. She was starting to convince herself that he was being honest, at least he was saying what he thought he felt... The point was that he was probably confused. This was something temporary. As soon as she said yes, that she loved him, they wouldn't spend more than two days together. He would realize that his feelings were something very far from love...

"I don't want to continue this conversation."

"Felicity... please... Please, I need you to answer me."

She turned and looked into his eyes, trying to stay calm.

"I already love you."

Oliver grinned. That was all that mattered to him, all he had wanted to hear since he entered the room. Now he wouldn't stop until he had her by his side.

"No... don't get excited." She said seeing his smile. "I love you, but I don't want to be with you."

"I... I don't... I don't understand! Felicity... If I love you and you love me... Where is the problem? We should be happy and together... not here... arguing."

"The problem is that I know that you don't love me. You love Laurel."

Oliver closed his eyes. "That's over… I don't feel anything for her. Not anymore." He cupped her face with his hands. "Trust me, please. I love you... Only you... and I love you more than I ever loved anyone, more than I loved her."

"That's impossible... your story with her was very strong..."

Oliver smiled. "My story with her is over... Now I want to start a story with you... and I promise it will be better."

He was so sincere... Felicity could see it written all over his face. She couldn't help but believe him.

She grabbed his neck and kissed him.

"A better story?"

Oliver smiled again and nodded. "It will always be a better story." He raised a hand, palm towards her. "I promise."

Felicity laughed and kissed him again.

She did not know if it would last long or not, nor did she know how it would be her life from now on... but as Oliver had said, she was sure that everything would be better with him.


End file.
